Categories: Chemicals, Emergency response, Exposure, Manufacturing, Personal protective equipment, Technology
April 15th, 2013 10:15 am ET -
Donna Van Bogaert Ph.D. and Glenn Doyle
Since its first printing in 1978, the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG) continues to be the Institute’s most popular document. The NPG provides general descriptive, exposure, and protective and emergency recommendations for 677 chemicals commonly found in the work environment. Workers, employers, and occupational health professionals all use the NPG in the course of their work and often in emergency situations. Fire fighters, for example, use the NPG to prepare themselves for exposures they might encounter on fire scenes.
The current printed pocket guide is a 424 page, 3 inch by 7 inch, pocket-sized book. We know many people rely on the printed version, particularly in times of emergency when power may be out or signals down or overextended. The NPG will continue to be available for print. We also know that there is a growing demand for the NPG in a mobile version that could offer users more convenience and flexibility.
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Categories: Cancer, Manufacturing, Respiratory health, Technology
August 29th, 2012 10:58 am ET -
Simone Tramma, MD, MS; Eileen Storey, MD, MPH; David Weissman, MD
Last year we posted two blogs on the use of computerized tomography (CT) scans of the chest for lung cancer screening — Helical CT Scans and Lung Cancer Screening1 and Low-dose CT Scans and Lung Cancer Screening in the Occupational Setting.2 Since the postings, various organizations have provided guidance with differing implications for early detection of lung cancer in workers who have been exposed to lung carcinogens in the occupational setting. This blog provides an update on scientific investigation and the various recommendations that have been made in this area.
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Categories: Cancer, Manufacturing, Respiratory health, Technology
August 4th, 2011 2:50 pm ET -
Simone Tramma, MD, MS; Eileen Storey, MD, MPH; Douglas B. Trout, MD, MHS; Marie Haring Sweeney, PhD, MPH
In early 2011 NIOSH posted a blog entry commenting on the preliminary results from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), funded by the National Cancer Institute, that found a 20.3% reduction in deaths from lung cancer among current or former heavy smokers who were screened with low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) versus those screened by chest X-ray (CXR). On June 29, 2011, the peer-reviewed primary results from the NLST were published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. This is an update to the previous blog.1
The National Lung Screening Trial
The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST)2 was a national randomized controlled trial launched by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 2002 to determine whether annual screening with low-dose helical CT would lead to earlier detection and reduced mortality from lung cancer relative to screening with CXR.
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Categories: Cancer, Manufacturing, Respiratory health, Technology
January 10th, 2011 2:15 pm ET -
Simone Tramma, MD, MS; Eileen Storey, MD, MPH; Douglas B. Trout, MD, MHS; Marie Haring Sweeney, PhD, MPH
Lung cancer is the foremost cause of death from cancer in the United States, leading to nearly 160,000 deaths in 2006 (USCS). Annually, nearly 200,000 people have a new diagnosis of lung cancer (See related blog on new Surgeon General Report).
Efforts to develop methods to detect the cancer early enough to improve survival of the diagnosed persons have been largely unsuccessful. A recent study of a relatively new form of screening using helical computerized tomography (CT) demonstrated fewer lung cancer deaths among individuals at high risk of lung cancer who received this screening than among a similar group screened with chest radiography (chest x-rays or CXRs). There is great interest in this finding, and there is hope that this might provide new approaches to cancer screening among workers with increased risk for lung cancer because of past occupational exposures.
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